


Head and Heart

by VoiDreamer



Series: Ryder and Reyes: A Romance [3]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 18:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoiDreamer/pseuds/VoiDreamer
Summary: “I apologize for being late. I know I promised to be a perfect gentleman.”“You did…” Ryder nods slowly, “But honestly, the last time you said that-”“I was lying.” Reyes grins and hugs her closer, “A horrible habit I know.”And when he sees she looks appropriately annoyed, his grin expands, “I would apologize, but you’re entirely too charming when you look like that...I do recall an earlier promise I made though, to be a proper scoundrel. On that I can certainly deliver.And with a not-entirely subtle wink, he takes a drink, “What do you think?”The turning point in the ongoing saga of RyderxReyes





	Head and Heart

Ryder does not know what to make of the invitation sitting in her inbox. Sandwiched between a plea to continue looking for the Asari ark and yet another request from Keri to continue their interview, she is keenly aware of her responsibilities.

_And yet…_

His message has been on her mind for the better part of three days.

Eyes straying from the research console to where the vidcon sits silently at the ready, she allowed herself one more delay, approving Liam’s request for prototype gear, before she considers the message again.

_"Ryder?”_

 She almost jumps as SAM speaks to her directly.

“Yes?”

_“There’s just been a rush of adrenaline in your system, is everything ok?”_

Despite her trepidation, Ryder almost laughs, “I’m just trying to work some things out, make a decision.”

 _“I understand.”_ After a short pause, SAM asks _, “Does this have anything to do with the email from Mr. Vidal?”_

“The email?” Ryder feints confusion.

_“Yes. You have only looked at it once, but your initial reading of it took almost three times longer than normal.”_

“Maybe I just read slowly.” Ryder says defensively, pushing away from the console and heading up the ramp for privacy.

_“On average you read about 275 word per minute. The letter from Mr. Vidal should have taken no more than 1.5 minutes, but you spent double that.”_

“I was tired that day.” She offers, it is not entirely a lie.

_“You have the additional habit of reading all your emails twice, the first when they come in and a second time about 24 hours later when you sort them into your archive. You have proceeded as normal for the bulk of your emails, but the letter from him has remained conspicuously untouched since the initial reading.”_

“Okay…”

_“Based on my findings it made logical sense to conclude that your bodily response was due to that email, and by extension, Mr. Vidal.”_

“Oh yes, the _logical_ thing, was it?” Ryder sighs, “Super, thanks for all that SAM. ”

_“Is that...sarcasm, Ryder?”_

“No.”

 _“Is that_ also _sarcasm?”_

She sighs, giving up, “Yes, SAM.”

 _“Oh, I see.”_ A pause, and then it asks, “ _Have you come to a decision?”_

“Oh for-” Ryder tilts her face up to look at the ceiling of the Tempest, taking a long steadying breath. By the time she lowers it, she is  as carefully composed as usual.  “Yes. Thank you SAM, I have.”

_“Excellent. Then perhaps it is best to tell you that I have Mr. Vidal on the line for you right now.”_

 

Ryder finds herself at the Outcast base less than a day later, wearing something that is definitely _not_ her standard issue Initiative gear. Tugging at the bottom of her jacket for the hundredth, she wonders if it really was worth it to let Cora and Vetra play dress-up (to endure their gleeful laughter behind her back when she departed). The scarf is nice, but she wonders if she’ll be able to react effectively in an emergency given that her current outfit is significantly more restrictive than what she’s used to.

“Name?”

She’s been here for about twenty minutes and there’s been no sign of Reyes. The man is notoriously late, but there’s something to be said about making someone wait after making them fly across the galaxy for a _date_.

Stupid.

She’d wait inside if he was going to be fashionably late, preferably with a drink.

Looking up at the irritated expression of the Outcast guard before her, Ryder realizes belatedly that the question had been directed at her.

“I’m sorry, what did you ask?”

“Your name?” The man taps the clipboard with the guest list.

But before she can open her mouth a hand splays possessively across her lower back, robbing her almost immediately of her ability to speak.

“She’s with me, Reyes Vidal.”

The voice is warm with amusement, accented in that way that makes her think of smoke and whiskey. And though she has yet to look at his face, Ryder cannot deny that she likes (too much) the way his arm fits around her waist as he propels them both forward.

Turning towards him when they cross the threshold, she finds herself the attention of very appreciative hazel eyes, the almost-green hue vivid even in the dimly lit room.

“Apologies for being late.” He pauses long enough to give her a lazy smirk.

“What happened? Got lost on the way here?” She asks archly, liking how he continues to keep her close even when she makes her opinion known.

He chuckles, “That would make for a poor showing, especially on our first date, no?”

When she remains silent, he laughs.  

“I apologize for being late. I know I promised to be a perfect gentleman.”

“You did…” Ryder nods slowly, “But honestly, the last time you said that-”

“I was lying.” Reyes grins and hugs her closer, “A horrible habit I know.”

And when he sees she looks appropriately annoyed his grin expands, “I would apologize, but you’re entirely too charming when you look like that.”

Passing the bar, he slips a glass into her hands and chuckles when she makes no move to drink, “I do recall an earlier promise I made though, to be a proper scoundrel. On _that_ I can certainly deliver.”

And with a not-entirely subtle wink, he takes a drink, “What do you think?”

“Promises, promises.” Ryder laughs at last, letting herself take a polite sip of the glass in response. He is, she finally admits to herself, a very compelling man. She’s not the only one who notices either and he earns more than a few appreciative glances from those around the room.

He wins a few dirty looks as well, but she knows from experience that Sloane is just as likely to dislike him as she does as any other person on Kadara who is not Kaetus.

Reyes, for his part, seems to take it in stride.

“Come with me, I’d like you to meet someone.”

And though he releases the hold around her waist, there is something perhaps even more tender in the way he takes her by hand. Warm, his hand is large around her own, and she is surprised by how much the contrast appeals to her.

Following his lead, she is startled when she is brought before the watchful gaze of a lovely angaran woman.

“I’d like you to meet my friend, Keema Dohrgon.”  

There’s no mistaking the woman’s expression of amusement.

“Ryder, correct?” Keema’s voice is warm, “Reyes has been talking a lot about you.”

“Has he?” She cannot help but tease her companion who has now gone comically silent, “Only good things I hope?”

“You are a paragon of virtue, my dear. How could it be anything else?”

 

Their conversation is going pleasantly enough when Reyes excuses himself seemingly out of the blue. And though Ryder says nothing, allowing him to make his getaway, Keema does not allow for more than a moment pass before she says, somewhat offhandedly, “He likes you, you know.”

There’s a long, embarrassed silence, before Ryder can manage a decent response.

“Reyes is a flirt, I figured he was like that with everyone.”

The other woman laughs, but it is a kind one.

“You are not incorrect. But I am a _friend_ and know him well enough to tell the difference between when he means it and when it’s just for show.” She leans ever so slightly forward, “He may not mean to be so obvious, but he is smitten.”

It is a pleasure to hear such things, a _guilty_ pleasure. Still, Ryder is of a practical nature and she knows the truth of it when she looks around and Reyes is nowhere to be found.

“Leaving me alone after inviting me out for the evening is not exactly something that screams ‘interested.’ “Though it does certainly seem as if he’s up to something.”

“Undoubtedly” Keema agrees, “Perhaps you should go after him? Though I suppose the alternative is just to stay away. It’ll be much safer in the long run.”

And though Ryder cannot say for certain if Keema is talking about something much larger than their current circumstances, the warning is unmistakable.

Ryder gives SAM a gentle nudge as she leaves Keema to enjoy the rest of the party.

_“Any idea where he went?”_

 

In the end, Reyes is exactly where SAM suggests, sneaking around the storage room without any care or consideration for the very illegal, very _dangerous_ position he would be in if he was spotted. Busy as he is, he does not even notice when she steps closer, too absorbed in his search.

“You better have a good explanation of this.”

Arms crossed, she has positioned herself so near that when he turns he actually jumps in surprise. She might have found it amusing if she was not suddenly heartsore with suspicion.

“Ryder!”

This is the first time she’s seen him as anything other than sure-footed, and she rather likes the change. This is the first time she’s had the advantage, and she’s more than willing to press her edge now.

“This is not what is looks like.” He tries to explain, gesturing unconvincingly around them.

She doesn’t bother to hide her doubt, and one of her brows arch in disbelief.

“So you didn’t invite me to Sloane’s party to act as a distraction so you could case the place?”

“Well…”

He falters, and that is answer enough.

And though his words are a victory for her, a validation of her earlier doubt, Ryder feels a twist of disappointment as well. Keema was, as she had expected, wholly incorrect.

“So much for a first date.” She sighs, feeling for the first time, just as silly as she feared she would.

The strength of that feeling is enough to have her head for the door, intent on leaving the experience, and the man, where they stood.

She should have trusted her instincts and left him well alone.

There were people relying on her, waiting on her to make things happen, _good things_ that could help the whole of the Initiative not just one selfish man on Kadara.

And though that’s the truth of it, it _hurts_ to have been so wrong, to have allowed herself to go out on that limb and find out that she should have known better. This was why she relied so much more on her head than her heart.

“Goodbye Reyes.”

She means the words and the finality attached to them.

And she promises herself she will deal with the sharp pain in her chest _later_.

Some things are better handled in the privacy of one’s room.

“Ryder-”

He’s there, just behind her, in an instant; one of his large hands curving around her upper arm. The grip is more to bring awareness than to truly stop her, and if she wants she could surely shake him off.

Instead she slows and, after a single measured breath, turns to face him.

“Yes?”

“Please don’t go,” There’s something there, a softness in his eyes that seems almost apologetic, “I did not mean to use you like that.”

“Didn’t you?”

If he means to lie, then it’s better that she leaves.

“I did not mean for our evening to consist of _just_ this.” He clarifies as if he can read her thoughts, “If you let me show you, I promise it will make sense.”  

She wants to believe him, her _heart_ wants to, but her head-

“Trust me?” He says quietly, asking rather than demanding her cooperation, “We can go now, and you’ll see it for yourself.”  

“I-”

Caught between the two, she’s only just started considering the options when they both hear it, the not-so-distant shuffling of feet and the grumbling of an Outcast guard.

Their gazes clash in the same instant, twin expressions of panic.

“Shit.”

There is no time to hide. No time to think of even the most basic reason for why they are in this side room rather than back at the party.

Think.

_Think._

Reyes’ hands are on her shoulders a moment later, pulling her behind him in an unmistakably protective gesture. Turning to shield her from the entryway, she’s pressed against the wall and his body. But there’s no mistaking it,   _he_ will be seen. And for all that Reyes is an incredibly smooth talker, even Ryder doubts he will be able to get out of this.

He has a reputation for being a smuggler, so the only good reason for him to be in here is-

The idea materializes for her in that instant, beautiful and terrifying.

A perfect mix of head and heart.

“Reyes.”

His name catches in her throat, but he turns towards her anyway. And by the time her arms have settled around his neck, he understands what she means to do.

It is with a shock, that his look of surprise melts into something so entirely sensual that Ryder feels her pulse race even before his hands draws her close.

“Is this how you want me, my dear?” He croons in her ear as he settles her against him, so that they are touching from chest to hips, “How very _naughty_ of you.”

His mouth is on her neck shortly after, nipping a line to the edge of her jaw.

“How _sweet_.”

But if she is sweet then he most certainly is _not_ . And despite the distraction of his lips, there is no missing it when his hands sneak lower to tilt her pelvis _just so_.

Gasping, her fingers dig into his shoulders as the air fills with the dark sound of his laughter.

“There we go.” His voice is husky with encouragement.

And though she wants to blame the heightened tensions, their impending _discovery_ at the hands of the guard _,_  for the way her heart pounds so loudly in her ears, there is no accounting for the pleasure that shudders through her when his lips finally find her own.

It has been more than 600 years since she’s kissed anyone, but Reyes is a far more accomplished kisser than anyone she’s known, even in the Milky Way.

He seems to know exactly how to drive her to the very edge of desire, to build the sensations not just with his clever tongue, but with the sure way he maps her curves with his hands . She’s not sure if he groans for her benefit, but that too works to make her almost frantic with need, and her hands reach up to thread in his hair when he lowers his mouth to taste her more deeply.

The touch, the silken glide of his tongue against her own, Ryder is so lost in the sensation  that she is only vaguely aware of someone, a stranger, on the edge of her peripheral. Unimportant, they barely register amidst the sensations of Reyes’ hands sliding down her back, the heady scent of him so very close to her.

And it is only later, how much later she does not know, that she makes the connection between that nameless, faceless person and the unseen Outcast guard that had prompted the panic in the first case.

Drawing back is almost beyond her, and yet, she manages to do so in degrees. First it is her leg, unwinding from its place snugly against his hip, then her arms. And though his kisses linger, when she presses her hands to her chest, he lets her go, stepping back with a certain satisfied look on his face.

She wonders if he can say the same of her, she certainly _feels_ like it.

“Ah Ryder, you surprise me.”

His comment makes her blush, and even in the dim light she’s sure he can see it.

“Do I?” The thought gives her a different sort of pleasure than the one currently buzzing through her system.

“You are a passionate woman.” Reyes says as he reaches out to cup the side of her face, his thumb gently running the length of her lower lip, the flesh still tender from his kisses.

“Join me?” He asks roughly, “Give _me_ a chance to surprise you?”

Ryder feels a smile tug the corner of her lips.

“Lead the way.”

  
  



End file.
